Chapter Text
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been outta town,’ Hank said. ‘Especially for a shopping trip.’
‘You deserve a break, after everything that’s happened lately,’ Connor answered. His eyes seemed to shine as he looked around at the Christmas lights that decorated every building.
There were snowflakes caught in his hair and stayed, as Connor lacked the warmth to melt them. Hank reached out and brushed them away. Connor smiled and leaned into his touch. Hank let his hand linger in those silky strands a little longer as he said, ‘We deserve a break.’
‘True! I’ve compiled a list of reputable burger places around the city and sent them to you in an email, we can go to one of them for dinner.’
‘Huh, so that’s what that was. I thought it was spam.’
Connor stared at him incredulously. ‘Lieutenant, didn’t you check the sender?’
The truth was, it’d been so long since anyone had tried to contact him on his personal email that Hank just assumed everything was either a virus or an advertisement. Or those wacky chain emails his old classmate from back at the academy kept forwarding. ‘Uh, I don’t think I deleted it yet-’
Connor stepped smartly in front of him. ‘Oh no, Hank, you’ve forfeited your right to choose now. I’ll be deciding where we eat.’ He grinned. ‘And it will be the healthiest, most alcohol-free meal my database can produce.’
Hank gasped in mock horror, his breath a puff of white in the cold air. ‘Connor, no.’
‘There’s a very trendy all-vegan barbeque nearby,’ Connor continued as they kept walking down the crowded streets. If people found them a strange pair – Connor still wore his CyberLife jacket, and the fact that he was dressed so lightly for late November made it clear he was an android – they kept their thoughts to themselves. They passed storefronts that flooded the snow-covered streets with golden light. Music played through every open door. Hank followed Connor’s lead, wondering where their destination was.
As if he’d heard Hank’s thoughts, Connor took a wad of bills out of his jacket and said, ‘Since I received my first pay check, I wanted to spend it on something… indulgent.’
Hank pulled his arm down. ‘Hey! Don’t wave cash around like that, do you wanna get mugged?’
Connor blinked at him. There were snowflakes caught on his lashes, white against dark down. Tilting his head like a confused puppy, Connor told him, ‘If they tried, I’d arrest them.’
‘It’s still dangerous,’ Hank grumbled.
‘There’s a low chance anyone trying to rob us will be more dangerous than me,’ Connor replied. Thankfully, he tucked the money back into his jacket. ‘Ah, we’re here.’
Hank peered at the shop’s display window. It seemed to be selling Christmas-themed costumes; red, white and green featured heavily amongst the tinsel and holly leaves. But the instinct that had served him so well as a detective told him there was something strange. Hank took a closer look and saw it. Silver armbands with that familiar blue triangle, the same symbol sewn onto the left breast of that classic Santa coat, decorating a sweater alongside reindeers and stars. ‘It’s for androids.’
‘Android accessories,’ Connor confirmed as he pushed open the door. Speaking over the electronic voice that welcomed them in, Connor explained, ‘Ever since that incident at CyberLife Tower, I’ve thought about making my appearance more unique.’
‘Is that why you’ve started wearing those weird ties?’
Connor frowned, shifting his jacket to try and hide the stripy white, orange and blue tie he wore; the only thing he’d changed in his outfit this entire time. In a hurt voice – and oh, he had to be faking it just to make Hank feel like an ass and the worst thing was that it was working – Connor said, ‘All of my new ties were chosen based on your shirts. I make certain we match every day.’
‘Weird doesn’t mean bad!’ Hank added hurriedly. ‘It’s a good kind of weird. Look, sorry about getting caught and almost fucking everything up for you. I should’ve known from the start that wasn’t you.’
Connor shook his head as he brushed the snow off his shoulders. ‘It wasn’t your fault. That Connor… was me. I was exactly like him the night we first met. Remember when I spilled your drink?’
‘I’d drunk too much anyway.’ Hank looked around the store. Most of the long room was taken up by shelves, racks and glass display cabinets. He’d expected more clothing. One wall was dedicated to elaborate outfits – Hank wondered what kind of shithead made their android walk around in full pirate costume, peg leg included – but that formed only a fraction of the wares. ‘Whoa, do people really need all this stuff?’
‘Need? No. But humans want a lot of things.’ Connor went to a shelf of glasses and picked up a pair. ‘And now androids can want things, too.’
‘And you want glasses.’
Connor tried them on. The black, rectangular frames sat easily on his nose, resting just above his high cheekbones. Connor had always looked smart with his glossy black shoes, grey CyberLife suit jacket and crisp white shirt. The glasses added to that, making his brown eyes seem sharper, more confident.
He peered curiously at Hank, who considered the new addition, then shook his head.
Connor put the glasses back. ‘I want to customise myself. All the spare Connors are now active. I’m not the only one anymore. I expect some of them will want to join the DPD. It’ll be… odd… to see other Connors around.’
‘Hey.’ Hank took Connor’s hands in his own. They were cold now, but he knew from experience they warmed quickly enough if he held them. ‘It won’t matter. You were the one who went through all that shit and joined the revolution. You’re my partner. You’re the Connor.’
Connor ducked down to press his lips against Hank’s knuckles. ‘I’m your Connor.’
Hank chuckled. ‘Well, I don’t think glasses suit my Connor. Let’s keep looking.’
They passed hair dyes, hair extensions and a plethora of cutesy hair-based accessories that Hank dismissed with a wave of his hand. Connor wouldn’t be caught dead wearing hot pink polka dots if he could help it.
The next section looked almost like a typical cosmetics display. Closer inspection revealed that what appeared to be powder makeup to be cleverly crafted plastic, textured to mimic normal eyeshadow and whatever else makeup included. It’d been a long time since Hank had shopped for makeup – or more accurately, paid for someone else’s makeup. There were also little tubes of lipstick in hues that ranged from typical to impossible; sunset gradients, reptilian scales, a transforming metallic rainbow that promised so many random combinations no pattern would be repeated. Hank picked one up. It twisted like normal lipstick, the base of the tube glowing blue. But the stick itself was too dry, too smooth to be the real thing. Hank stared at it curiously.
‘It’s a form of wireless USB,’ Connor explained. ‘I can download the mod inside and display it, but it’ll only be temporary unless we buy the code.’
‘So you don’t actually need to put it on?’
Connor glanced at the instructions next to the samples. Then he stepped close to Hank and puckered his lips. Carefully, Hank pressed the lipstick against Connor’s lips, holding his chin with his other hand to keep him steady. Connor obediently responded to every little touch so that even Hank’s inexperienced hand didn’t smear the lipstick. Or maybe it was impossible to smear, being digital and all. Hank liked to believe it was due to his own skill, though.
The effect was very understated. It was a pale pink colour, but mixed with something glittery that caught the light so that Connor’s lips sparkled when he asked, ‘Does it look good?’
Now that he was focusing, Hank thought that it’d somehow left Connor’s lips looking fuller as well. Softer, plumper, more inviting, especially when Connor turned his head in embarrassment and smiled shyly. ‘You’re staring, Lieutenant.’
‘You’re the one that asked me to,’ Hank pointed out. The lipstick’s sparkling effect made it look like Connor had just licked his lips, or if someone else had... Hank coughed and looked away. ‘Is this, er, permanent? Once you buy it, I mean.’
‘I can dismiss the mod any time, but that takes away the purpose of making myself recognisable from the other RK800s.’
When he spoke, Hank found his eyes drawn to how his mouth framed each sound, the light dancing across his rosy skin as they moved. They looked almost ripe, the softness so inviting, the colour giving the impression of sweetness, almost asking for a taste…
Hank thought of going to work every day and sitting across from Connor with those lips. Connor sampling evidence with those lips. His slender fingers sliding in- Hank shook his head and said, in a slightly forced voice, ‘We’re gonna keep looking.’
They’d made their way through most of the store now. There were hair extensions and dyes, but Connor knew how much Hank loved his hair and didn’t pause to consider them. There were skin packs, but the idea of turning Connor into a hairy Sasquatch-esque creature didn’t appeal to either of them. There were scents, and Connor somehow managed to find one that would make him constantly smell like frying bacon which he threatened to purchase, only stopping when Hank’s shouts of alarm brought the store assistant over.
Hank began to wonder if Connor had brought him here just to have fun at his expense. He grumbled as Connor apologised to the staff but allowed Connor to take him by the hand and guide him to the next section. The sound of Connor laughing under his breath lightened his bad mood a little. The little shithead knew it, too; Hank could see it in his eyes. But there was warmth in them as well, a brown so deep and rich it made him think of the soft earth that nurtured springtime grass, the soothing heat of coffee on winter morning, the... Hank jerked out of his thoughts when Connor tapped him on the arm.
‘What about these?’ Connor asked, holding triangles of white fur and pink felt the top of his head.
Hank glanced at the boxes lined on the shelves. The shit people spent their money on these days. ‘Cat ears? No.’
‘Ah, you prefer dogs, don’t you?’ Connor picked up two new ears; there were twin electronic chimes as they attached to his head. The he picked up something else from the sample set. He turned a bit so Hank could see the long, fluffy tail he held to his ass. Hank swore when they started moving, the ears perking up and swivelling to face him.
Oh, there was no denying it was adorable, and Hank kind of wanted to buy it just to see how Sumo would react. As he watched, the fur changed colour to match the brown of Connor’s hair. Hank wondered if it’d feel the same, if he could run his fingers through it just as easily. If it would still make Connor smile and press closer to him, put his face against Hank’s neck so his eyelashes tickled Hank’s throat as he closed his eyes, breath whispering against his skin.
Connor tilted his head. ‘You like them? You’re smiling.’
Hank hadn’t realised. ‘I dunno. I guess you do look cute.’ He checked the price tag – holy fuck, there way the tech in them deserved that kind of cash. Hank quickly added, ‘But it’s not like you don’t look cute without them.’
Connor blushed. He smiled. Then he knocked a pile of dog collars off the shelf behind him with his tail. Hank barely managed to catch them before they hit the ground. Unfortunately, that put his head in range of Connor’s tail.
‘Fuck! Connor! Ow!’ Hank grunted as he got whacked in the face with a very realistic dog tail.
‘I’m sorry Lieutenant, I, I can’t stop it! Ah- I should deactivate it-’ The ears popped off Connor’s head as the tail went limp, the fur fading back to its original white colour. Sheepishly, Connor asked, ‘Keep looking?’
‘Keep looking,’ Hank agreed. They didn’t have to keep looking for long – they soon reached the far wall, where the staff door lead to what Hank assumed was a storage area. The colourful displays had given way to cardboard boxes, the shelves and racks become emptier as they continued forward. Finally, Connor had to turn back around.
With a hint of annoyance, Connor asked, ‘Well, what kind of look do you like on me, Hank?’
Hank considered. Then he stepped closer to Connor, brushed his knuckles against his cheek and pulled him close for a kiss. The android tensed for the briefest of moments before he leaned closer to press closer to Hank. Connor’s mouth didn’t taste of anything, but the softness of his lips and the way his tongue moved against Hank’s own was so deliciously sweet. He let out a little moan as Hank slipped his hand lower to caress the soft skin of his neck, then lower still underneath his collar. His other hand he carded through Connor’s hair, running his fingers through silky fine strands. Connor cupped Hank’s face, thumbs in his beard as they kept moving against each other, needing closer, needing more, swallowing each sigh and gasp as it fell from their lips.
Hank pulled back when he needed air but kept his hand on Connor’s neck, so he could stroke his cheek with his thumb. Their kiss had left Connor’s hair a dishevelled mess. His skin was flushed with rosy pink. His lips were parted, panting, as he peered through his dark lashes up at Hank, eyes bright and warm and loving.
Laughing, Hank answered, ‘This one.’